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Donating is easier than running, I promise. I ran... it was beautiful, awesome, inspiring. It was not easy.

What A Weekend

I'm still trying to wrap my brain around the weekend. Trying to find the right words to share the story. Until I can think of what to say here are some highlights (mostly in links & pictures.

At Saturday night's pasta party we got to hear honoree Amy Barlett tell the story of her experience as a cancer patient & participant of the Nike and Joan Benoit Samuelson wished us well. That was pretty cool. I remember watching her run in 1984.

The morning of the run began with a team cheer at 6.15AM (Coach is in the yellow hat)


I wished my mentees & friends good luck & a healthy race before heading off to find my pace group's corral...

Ray and I waiting in a dumpster for our group to begin.

By the time we reached the start line it had been at least 20 mins since the gun.

It was right about here that I heard a ruckus, looked up to witness a flyover by the wild parrots of Telegraph Hill WOW!

This is the first hill of the race at Fort Mason. I ran it like a champ, using my arms to help me blow past many others. If this was the only hill on the course I might at had an impressive finish time. I had no idea what was to come...

This is the lead up to THE HILL of 2-3 miles of slight incline to steep grades up up up. But as they say... what goes up, must come down!


Whoa... slow down!


























The end is near only 3 miles to the... My offical time was 3:00:40, a personal record. If you take into account about 10 minutes of waiting for bathroom breaks along the course I improved my time by about 15 minutes. Not bad if you ask me.

It's great to have their support at the end:








And of course the reason for this all: My personal honoree. The first name I yell out before a run & the first one I think of during our moments of silence

Now let the celebration begin...

I Ran For Life

I just got home & will get the post-race wrap-up & pictures before the night is over. In the mean time here are some lyrics that were played over the slideshow of honorees at our pre-race party. They sum up why I do this.
I Run For Life - Melissa Etheridge
It's been years since they told her about it
The darkness her body possessed
And the scars are still there in the mirror
Everyday that she gets herself dressed
Though the pain is miles and miles behind her
And the fear is now a docile beast
If you ask her why she is still running
She'll tell you it makes her complete

[Chorus:]
I run for hope
I run to feel
I run for the truth
For all that is real
I run for your mother, your sister, your wife
I run for you and me, my friend
I run for life

It's a blur since they told me about it
How the darkness had taken its toll
And they cut into my skin and they cut into my body
But they will never get a piece of my soul
And now I'm still learning the lesson
To awake when I hear the call
And if you ask me why I am still running
I'll tell you I run for us all

[Chorus:]
I run for hope
I run to feel
I run for the truth
For all that is real
I run for your mother your sister your wife
I run for you and me my friend
I run for life

And someday if they tell you about it
If the darkness knocks on your door
Remember her remember me
We will be running as we have before
Running for answers
Running for more

I run for hope
I run to feel
I run for the truth
For all that is real
I run for your mother, your sister, your wife
I run for you and me my friend
I run for hope
I run to feel
I run for the truth
For all that is real
I run for your mother your sister, your wife
For you and me my friend
I run for life
Ohohohoh

I run for your mother your sister your wife
I run for you and me my friend
I run for life

Last Minute Post

I'm packing up to head to SF for the run tomorrow. Here are a few things you might be interested in:

- The East Bayside Marathon team has raised $407,109 for cancer reasearch & patient care.
- LLS has raised over $18.5 MILLION through the Nike Women's Marathon
- Honoree Cole would be 5 years old on the day of the race. Unfortunately he spent his entire life (less than 2 years) in the hospital fighting cancer. His life will help save another because his body has been used in research to develop a new drug. Keep his mom, Brandi, in your thoughts as she runs in his memory on his birthday.
- Honoree Brenda was cheering on the sideline of this race last year. Unfortunately she too passed away in the spring. I wear a bracelet with her name on it and know it will help push me through the hills.
- I still wear the friendship bracelet that honoree Vanessa made for me last season. It helped keep me focused on the finish line when my muscles wanted to stop moving. She won't be at the finish line this year because she's busy being a kid - playing soccer & having fun!
- I am less than 24 hours from the end of this journey.
- I am within $800 of my fundraising goal. You can help me cross that finish line with a donation

Thanks for following me on this crazy thing. I'm going to take the winter season off but I'll be back in the spring. I will run one last event - the Avenue of the Giants - and then I'm hanging up my 1/2 marathon shoes. Maybe I'll take up a triathlon or a century bike ride! Stay tuned.

Race Day Weather

I woke up this AM to the sound of pouring rain. Oh no! I hope this storm doesn't plan to stick around through the weekend. A quick search on weather.com eases my mind. It's supposed to be clear & sunny with a high of 68. Perfect running weather.

Six Days On The Road

Well... six days before I hit the road. Nike is on Sunday. I'm resting.

If you want to see what your dollars are doing: read this article

tick tick tick... the clock is counting down.

63% of Goal

To date I have raised $1595.00 - that's 63% of my $2,500 goal. If you haven't had a chance to give to LLS please DONATE NOW